Washington Post: Trump Administration Requested Ukraine to Accept Non-Citizen Deportees

In an unusual diplomatic move, the Trump administration earlier this year asked the Ukrainian government to accept a number of deportees from the United States who are not Ukrainian citizens.

The Gaze reports on this with reference to The Washington Post.

The request, conveyed in late January by a senior U.S. diplomat, came despite Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia and its heavy reliance on U.S. military and financial support.

While the documents do not reveal Kyiv’s formal response, a Ukrainian diplomat informed the U.S. that a reply would be issued once an official stance was determined. According to Ukrainian officials familiar with the situation, the proposal was not discussed at the highest levels of government, and no significant political pressure from Washington was noted on the matter.

This request was part of a broader Trump administration initiative to expand deportation programs by identifying international partners willing to receive individuals expelled from the U.S., including those who are citizens of third countries. Similar outreach was reported toward nations in Latin America, such as El Salvador and Panama, often with incentives or implied consequences, including tariff threats or aid adjustments.

Notably, the request to Ukraine came while its airports were non-operational due to frequent Russian air attacks. Despite these conditions, the administration proceeded with efforts to use Ukraine as a destination for deportees as part of a wider campaign to overhaul U.S. immigration policy.

The report also indicates that the Trump administration explored similar deportation arrangements with countries like Rwanda, Uzbekistan, and Georgia. In Rwanda’s case, the U.S. reportedly paid $100,000 to relocate a single deportee and discussed plans for broader cooperation. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan received over 100 deportees in April, including citizens of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

The Ukrainian government has not taken in any third-country nationals deported from the U.S., and the matter remains politically sensitive amid concerns over using a war-torn country as a destination for non-citizen migrants.

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